Little Moments
by SofiaSofiaSofia
Summary: These are moments of Callie and Arizona's love story and of their family life. Some are "missing pieces" and some are "what ifs."
1. Made For Each Other

**This is a little something I wrote about how I picture Arizona and Sofia's first real mother/daughter moment going. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Sadly, Arizona knew plenty about pain. She wished that she was still naïve to the realities of loss, but her brother's death had changed her in a deep, permanent way. Sure, she had moved on with her life. What choice did she have? Still, she understood that heartache was not just a figurative thing. No, it was real. When she was emotionally hurt, it seemed as though she even had physical manifestations of that pain. Today, the ache had returned.

Medically, she was fine. She had sustained only minor bumps and bruises in the crash. Those would heal in no time. Would Calliope ever return to her, though? She couldn't be so sure. For now the Latina was stable. She looked so peaceful, but there was nothing soothing about the realities of her condition. Arizona was wrestling with the thoughts that that beautiful, smart, fantastic woman may never wake up. She was paralyzed by the fear that their perfect, yet premature daughter would also leave her or have a seemingly never ending list of conditions that no mom ever wants their child to have. So far, today was one of the worst days of her life.

Even so, there was something about the seventeen ounce girl lying in the incubator in front of her that also made her feel something else. She wouldn't quite call it happiness, because she wasn't happy that Callie's mini-me was fighting for the life that she had yet to start living. Joy wasn't it. This had to be the unconditional love that parents spoke of, she decided. There were so many things wrong with this new person. So many in fact that Arizona couldn't even handle thinking about them all at once. Technically she wasn't even at the age of viability right now. Addison had given Callie steroids as soon as she had gotten to Seattle and these were the only reason that the little lady was still alive. Steroids and miracles. This was definitely one of those as well. Even though Arizona knew all of these things, she still saw no flaws in this little one. She could officially confirm that genetics and even terrible situations like this were no match for motherly love. Already a connection was starting to form. Bonding had begun and she hoped more than anything that nothing would tear them apart.

"Did you know I'm your mommy?" she asked her through the tears. "I am. You know, before you got here, I was so silly. I knew I'd love you because I love your madre so much and you're a part of her. How could I not love you? What I didn't know is that you'd really feel like mine. You'd be a part of me, too. You don't have my eyes or my nose, but I'm all yours."

She watched the micro-preemie's chest rise as air was forced into it via machines. She saw all of the IVs that were there to administer countless medications.

"You won't give up," she told her. "My girls are strong, Baby. You should meet your madre. You've been in her belly all this time, but you haven't gotten to _really_ meet her yet. She's great. When she's around, I feel so good. She has this way of making me feel like I'm the prettiest lady in the world. That's not true, though. Nope! Because it's a two way tie, Sweet Girl. You and your madre have that title by a long shot. I don't stand a chance!"

The baby kicked out her little foot. Finally, she had done something newborn-like. She seemed alive instead of just lying there. Mommy was proud, even though all babies did this.

"You're so feisty," Arizona said. "I love it. You're everything I thought you'd be. I figured you'd be big and healthy and arrive on time, but still. You're still just the baby we wanted. You were made just for us, right? Wanna know something crazy? I used to think that I wasn't supposed to have a baby."

Another little kick. Some of these – maybe most of them – were probably involuntary, but Arizona took them differently. This was her baby's way of communicating with her already. She liked to believe that, anyway.

"I know!" she smiled. "But you and I, we can't be without each other. Or Madre. We just can't. So you both have to get better. Do your best, okay? That's all I ask, Peanut. We'll deal with whatever abilities you have or don't have as they come, but I just want you and madre with me. Whatever that means. We're best buddies and I know that life's not very fun without best buddies. One of mine is already gone, so don't leave me, Little One. We'll do the most fun things ever and I'll even help you sneak out when you're a teenager without Madre knowing. Sometimes. Not all the time, but still. Every now and then. Deal? We'll be partners in crime, you and me."

Her heart rate went up a little as Arizona watched the monitor. It wasn't by much. Still not even enough to be considered okay, but the baby was trying.

"Oh, and we'll give you a name, too. Because Peanut, Sweet Girl, Baby, and Little One don't work well in the real world. I'm Arizona and even that didn't go over well on the playground. We'll find you the prettiest name there is. Promise."

Addison came over. She had been watching Arizona interact with the baby from a distance and she found herself considering the little girl to be lucky. Of course, she wasn't doing well right now, but she was still fortunate. She had three parents who were crazy about her and who would do everything they could to see her through this mess. That was a good thing that had come out of all of this sadness.

"How's she doing?"

"She's gonna make it," Arizona smiled, realistically not so sure, but choosing to believe it because moms couldn't give up on their children. "Thank you so much."

"You're the one who got her heart started," she said. "I just took over from there."

"It's such a gorgeous heartbeat, too," she stated. "I can't wait until it gets stronger and stronger."

"Any update on Callie?"

"No," she replied. "I didn't want to leave her, but I had to come meet this one here. Properly. We met, but I had to tell her some pretty important things."

"Don't wear yourself out," she said. "Breaks are okay, too."

"They don't get breaks," she replied. "They have to keep fighting. Besides, why would I want to be anywhere but here with my girls? Sure, we can't do much, but this beautiful girl is going to get read a _lot _of stories and she's going to have to hear plenty of my made-up lullabies. Right now, I'm so tired that I can't remember the real words, but don't tell her that. I'll use my new mommy improv skills."


	2. Do I Make You Proud?

**Thank you so much for all of the reviews, favourites, ect. that I got for this yesterday. Here is another one for today.**

**While dealing with her phantom limb pain, Arizona worries about how her wife and daughter perceive her now.  
**

* * *

Arizona walked back into the kitchen to find Sofia dumping tiny spoonfuls of the applesauce that she was supposed to be eating for breakfast onto the floor. This was one of the new ways that she would test her limits. Instead of eating all of her food, she would eat some of it and then not-so-accidently spill the rest. They tried not to leave her alone at the table, but today Arizona had just gone to the washroom while Callie was getting dressed. It had been all of maybe five minutes that the toddler was alone and the first mess of the day had already been made.

"Sofia, we've talked about this," she told her as she took a seat beside her. "When you don't want anymore, please tell us you're all done. Can you say that?"

"Yep, Mama," she nodded.

"Then why is there applesauce on the floor?"

Sofia looked down and acted as if she was seeing her handy work for the first time. Her pretend reaction was so adorable that Mommy almost laughed, but she couldn't. That would undo the whole lesson that she was trying to teach here.

"Uh oh!" the two-year-old's little voice replied.

"You made a mess, huh?"

"Yeah," she admitted.

"What do you say when you do something you shouldn't?"

"No mo'," she promised.

"No more," she said. "Right. And sorry. Shake on it, Little Lady?"

She extended her hand, but Sofia just looked at it. Handshakes apparently weren't her style.

"Kiss on it?" Mommy suggested instead.

Sofia gave Arizona a kiss. Even she knew that her mothers could never stay upset with her for long. Her kisses and smiles worked wonders. They were powerless against them.

"Alright," she said, getting up and letting Sofia down. "I'll clean it up. Can you go find something to play with for a minute? Go say good morning to your baby doll."

Just as she said this, Arizona felt a sharp pain in her leg. To be more specific, it was in her non-existent leg. Even though she had her prosthetic on and there was no reason that it couldn't support her weight, her body quickly slammed to the ground right there in front of her daughter.

"Ow!"

"Mama?" Sofia asked. "Mama owy?"

Callie came out of the bedroom and made her way into the kitchen as soon as she heard it. She had been under the impression that Arizona was only experiencing these phantom limb pains at nighttime, yet she didn't even bother questioning her. That was beside the point right now.

"What do you need?" she asked as she got down to her wife's level. "What can I do? What helps?"

"Mama?" Sofia asked again.

"It's okay, So..." Arizona tried to say.

She didn't want to scare her little girl. This was bad enough for an adult to have to deal with; she didn't want her daughter to see her in pain.

"Mommy'll be okay," Callie assured her. "You know what you can do? I think your comfy would help. Can you go get Mommy your comfy?"

Sofia's "comfy" was one of Mark's shirts that she had started carrying around with her shortly after his death. She found it whenever she got a bump or a bruise or just when she was having a particularly difficult day. It seemed to help her whenever she had it. Of course, this would be of no assistance to Arizona, but Callie just wanted to let Sofia feel empowered instead of worried.

She nodded and set off on a hunt for the last place that she had left it.

Arizona was already working on getting her prosthetic off, but that wasn't going to be enough. She had to employ one of Owen's techniques as well. Even though having her wife stab the prosthetic was probably going to be successful, she really didn't like that idea. It wasn't exactly going to be the best thing to do in every situation.

"Get the mirror," she told Callie. "The full-length one."

"I'll be right back," she said, leaving as her wife started to massage the leg she had lost. "Breathe. Deep breaths."

"I'm trying."

"You're doing great!" she called back as she grabbed the mirror.

She returned and placed it beside Arizona's remaining leg. By this time, Sofia was also back with her favourite black shirt, but she hadn't given it to her mom. Instead, she was sucking on the edge of it herself. She must have been trying to be brave in her own little way and she needed a little help.

"It's helping," Arizona eventually said. "You don't have to stab me in the foot."

"What?" Callie replied.

"Never mind," she said. "Where's Sofia?"

"She's behind you, but she's okay. Right, Sofia?"

"Mama owy?" the tiny girl questioned.

"Mommy's owy is getting better," Arizona told her. "It's okay. We get owys and then we get back up, right?"

"Yep."

* * *

At first, all that mattered was helping Arizona through her pain. Callie wasn't concerned with anything else. However, as the workday went on, the Ortho surgeon began to feel frustrated. She could see how her wife was annoyed by being her patient, but still. She needed help. Callie really didn't think of Arizona as weak at all. No, Arizona Robbins was the strongest person she knew. She had survived the unimaginable, lost her leg, and still eventually managed to pick herself back up and keep going. Arizona had warrior-like strength. She would never view her as anything less than the amazing doctor, wife, and mother that she was. She just wished that she could make her see that.

She stood outside of the daycare watching Sofia, Zola, and a little boy named Liam play together. What she really needed to be doing was talking to her wife, but she didn't want this to turn into a fight. The second best option – venting to her best friend – was also no longer a choice. Watching her child play without a care in the world was the next thing that she could think of to help make her feel better.

Arizona walked up beside her a few minutes later.

"Let me guess," she asked. "You can't get mad at me, you can't vent to Mark, so you're hoping that this helps?"

"Yeah."

"Me too," she admitted. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry," she said. "You just should have come to me."

"I talked to Owen about it."

"I'm your wife."

"Exactly," she said. "I just don't want you to see me as broken anymore. I've had enough of that. I don't want there to be yet another thing that gets in the way of us. I don't want to let you down."

These words took Callie's breath away. She literally had to inhale deeply before responding. "Arizona, there's no way I could ever see you as broken. You have not let me down. You have a prosthetic leg and I wish that none of this had happened. But there is nothing wrong with you. Amputee or not, you're still the same woman I fell in love with. I know you're going through things and you've changed. I have too. But I love you and you love me and none of the rest of it matters."

Arizona smiled as she heard her wife repeat what had sort of become a family motto. Of course, losing her leg did matter. Her phantom pain did matter. However, she knew that her wife wasn't trying to downplay any of it. All that she was trying to say is that their little family would band together and get through everything and anything.

"I freaked Sofia out, though. I don't want her seeing me as –"

"If you say broken again –"

"I don't want to burden her. I don't want her to grow up feeling like she has to help her mom instead of the other way around."

"I don't know what to say," Callie said. "You and I are the parents she has left, Arizona. I don't –"

Callie stopped talking suddenly. She didn't need to use words to get her point across. No, inside the daycare classroom, Sofia was doing that for her. They had just watched as Zola tripped and fell on the edge of the rug. She had hit her chin pretty hard off of the floor and was clearly in tears. Little Liam hadn't known what to do, so he was simply starring at her. Sofia, on the other hand, had taken action to make her buddy feel better. Her tiny arms were already wrapping Zola into a hug.

"Okay," Arizona said. "I stand corrected."

She had realized that her daughter wasn't going to see her as a burden. Really, she would never know any different. She would grow up always remembering her mother as an amputee. She probably wouldn't feel like this was terrible though. Instead, it would apparently make her a much more compassionate, kind, helpful little girl.

"She makes me so proud," the blond said. "Look at her!"

"Of course she does. She takes after her mama. Arizona, I've been hard on you. I know I have. But I haven't done it because I see something wrong with you. It's because I see your potential and all I want is the best for you. You make me proud, too. Look at all you've done since the crash. I know none of it was easy."

"Calliope?" she replied after a few beats of silence.

"Arizona?"

"I've been having phantom limb pain. Do you think you could help?"

"Let's go see what we can do about that," she smiled.


	3. My Funny Valentine

**Today, I decided to write a little something about how I thought Valentine's day would possibly look for the little family this year. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Don't you think you might be going overboard?" Callie laughed as her wife transformed their apartment using various pink, red, and white decorations since Valentine's day was the next day.

"Not possible," she smiled. "She'll love it. This is her year."

They had agreed to focus on showering their little lady with all of the Valentine's love this year, instead of making it a romantic day for the two of them. Of course, they had nothing against a special night together, but it was just too much pressure for now. They were still working on their love life. They were trying, but they didn't want Valentine's day to place any intimidating expectations on their night. Things were different this year. Valentine's day could be as well. They had learned to embrace the things that were different, instead of trying to force themselves into sameness.

"I'm pretty sure she doesn't know what Valentine's day even is."

"Well, she'll see," she smiled. "She'll love it."

Callie had to admit that all of the decorations, which had been placed at a toddler height so that she could really enjoy them, were adorable. Sofia was going to get a kick out of it all. Tomorrow morning was going to be great.

"I love how much you love her," she said.

"What?"

"I don't mean because she's Mark's," Callie explained. "Clearly we've established that you're her mom regardless of genes. What I mean is that I love watching you light up when you talk about her, or even when she comes into the room. Even her temper tantrums thrill you because she's the feisty girl you want her to be. I love watching the two of you together. It's my favourite thing."

"Same here," Arizona said. "We're lucky enough to be her mommies, Calliope. Whatever did we do to make that happen?"

"Lucky" wasn't a word they were using very often these days. However, it truly was the only one that fit her feelings about Sofia. She had thought her world was complete when she met her wife, but she didn't know the half of it. Many things about her life right now made her feel pretty unfortunate, but not that little girl. Of all of the people who could have a child like her, she was given to them. Calliope and Sofia were the best things to ever happen. Not just to her. No, when Arizona said that, she meant ever. That was probably only her opinion, but she thought it was true.

"I have no idea," she said.

"She wanted to wear the blue dress tomorrow, but I talked her into the white one. Yes, I know it's probably going to get a million stains on it, but that's okay. With the little red shoes, it'll be the cutest thing you've ever seen."

Callie smiled.

"You may care about this a _little _too much."

"I know it's not a real holiday, but still. What's wrong with a day that makes our girl feel how we feel about her?"

* * *

"Whoa!" Sofia smiled when she walked into the living area the next morning.

She was still sleepy and getting her to wake up had actually been a little challenging. She wanted to cuddle instead. Mommy couldn't disagree, but unfortunately that wasn't allowed. Even on Valentine's day, there were lives to be saved. The mommies had to work which meant that Miss Sofia was destined for daycare.

Callie was recording her reaction. Sofia rubbed her eyes with her little fists, as if she wanted to make sure that they were really seeing all of the prettiness before her.

"Happy Valentine's day, Sofia," Mommy smiled.

"What do you see?" Callie asked as her daughter stood still just looking around.

"Stuff, Maday!" she exclaimed. "Yay!"

"Go check it out," Arizona encouraged.

Sofia approached one of the banners and pointed out the hearts on it. She began to place her finger on each, making them think that she was trying to count them.

"How many are there?" Callie questioned.

"One...two...Sof..."

"One, two, Sofia?" Arizona laughed. "I don't think that's how counting goes."

"Red!" she told her.

"They are red hearts," she nodded. "How many?"

"One,...two...free!"

"One, two, three!" she repeated. "It's Valentine's day, Baby. Do you know what that means?"

"Happy?" she asked.

Sofia may have only been two years old, but even she was perceptive enough to know that her family needed some happiness. She had been protected from a lot of the painful things that everyone had been going through, but they couldn't keep everything from her. Her life had changed, too. They were so glad that she knew that they were putting in the effort to make this a happy day.

"It is happy," Callie agreed. "It means we're going to celebrate how much we love you. Sound good?"

"Yep," she nodded.

"Shall we start with some heart pancakes?" Arizona proposed.

* * *

The tiny Torres loved Valentine's day. In fact, she was still carrying around the little Valentine's card that her parents had given her when Madre arrived to pick her up early from daycare. They had read her its message, so she knew that it was just for her and she wasn't letting it go.

"Can we put your Valentine over here for one second?" Callie asked her. "You can't help me decorate Mama's cake while you hold it."

Callie had decided to go back on her promise of _just _focusing on Sofia today. She didn't intend to fill the night with candles, dim lighting and soft music, but she had to do something to show her wife how much she loved her. Arizona had overcome so much this year. She deserved this. Sofia agreed, so they had baked a cake. Her wife figured that cake decorated by a toddler wasn't romantic, so she still wasn't putting any pressure on her wife.

Sofia watched as Madre took the Valentine and placed it far away from their cake. Her eyes followed it and she kept checking to make sure that it was still there.

"It's yours, Sofia," she assured her. "It'll still be there when we're done. Now, would you like the red icing or the pink? What colour? Madre'll help you pipe it on."

"Pink," she chose.

"Okay."

Callie helped Sofia pipe a little design onto the chocolate cake. Of course, it wasn't exactly stunning artwork, but Mommy was going to love it. Sofia was so proud that she had helped, too.

"What does that say?" Callie asked her.

"Mama, Sofia."

"'Mommy and Sofia?'" she smiled. "What about me?"

"Maday and cat."

"And Madre and a cat?" she laughed. "We don't even have a cat!

"Woof!"

"Dogs say that," Callie told her. "Are you being silly?"

"Yeah," she giggled.

"Did you read a stor y about a cat and a dog at daycare?"

"Yes," she said.

"What happened?" she wondered.

Before Sofia could tell her, the door opened. Mommy was home. It took her a minute to realize what was going on. She had thought that she would be home before Callie. She was going to get some things ready for dinner while she waited for her girls, and there they were in front of her already.

"What are you two doing?" she asked.

"We wanted to surprise you."

"We said –"

"It's just a cake," she said. "It's dinner tonight. I've decided."

"Cake for dinner?" she replied. "Really?"

"Well, you don't want to be wined and dined –"

"It's not that I don't want that. It's just –"

"I understand," she said as her wife came closer. "But we still thought you deserved something just for you."

Arizona laughed as she set eyes on Sofia's "masterpiece" of a cake. It was covered in gobs of Valentine's day coloured icing in a way that only a two-year-old could possibly manage.

"Oh, Sofia!" she smiled. "It's the prettiest cake I've ever seen! Thank you!"

Callie gave her a kiss. "Happy Valentine's day, Arizona."

"Happy Valentine's Day," she replied. "This might be my favourite one yet."

"Mama, Sof, Maday, cat," Sofia said.

"What?"

"That's what your cake says, according to Sofia," Callie explained.

"No," the toddler said.

"No?" Arizona asked. "Is it a picture of us then? Is that it? Us with a cat?"

"Yeah," she decided.

She gave her a kiss. "What about a chicken? Can a chicken be on there, too? Maybe a puppy?"

She nodded.

"Perfect. Happy Valentine's day to us."

"And all of the animal friends we don't have," Callie laughed.


	4. Baby Mine

**The adoption story of Arizona's patient has her unnecessarily concerned until Callie points out just how fantastic the story of Arizona's motherhood really is even before their little one has arrived.**

* * *

Callie was giddy with excitement when she heard her girlfriend's key turn in the lock. As soon as the door opened, she couldn't resist calling out to her. She had had the night off after working a double shift the night before, so she had gone out and picked up some of Baby's first clothes. Everything was so perfectly tiny and she wanted Arizona to see it all.

"Come in here!" she called out from the bedroom.

"What?" Arizona asked in a tone that was much less joyful than usual.

From the spot where she sat cross-legged on the bed, she leaned out for a kiss. Arizona reciprocated for purely selfish reasons. She needed that kiss right now.

Callie held up the first in a series of baby clothing pieces that she had purchased for their little one. This one was a light blue onesie – a colour that she decided really could work on either gender since they didn't want to play into too many stereotypes – that said "Mommy's Best Buddy" on it in white lettering. She had expected to see Arizona's face light up, but her blank expression remained instead.

"Okay, talk to me," Callie told her as she put the onesie back down. "What's wrong, Mama?"

"It's a sweet sentiment," she said as she sat next to Callie on the bed. "And I meant what I said when I told you that this was my baby and that I'll love it regardless of how it came to be. I wouldn't be here if I didn't feel that."

"So the problem is...?"

"I had this patient come in today. He's a sixteen-year-old boy with pain in his right side. He's been having it for months and all of the other hospitals he's gone to have misdiagnosed him. He's had his appendix removed for no reason, he's been told it's all in his head, just...nobody has a real answer."

"Okay," Callie replied.

Arizona was a great doctor and she really felt for her patients. Callie loved this about her, so she understood that the blond was frustrated because the boy and his parents were. Still, what did this have to do with the baby? She wasn't following.

"So the problem is that I decided to ask the parents for a full medical history and the kid stopped me and told me that that wouldn't help because he was adopted at eight months old and his parents didn't know much about his history before then. He said it with such distain, Calliope. And he ac ted so cold towards his parents. I guess he just found out about his adoption a year ago, but still. He was so distant. I understand that he's trying to figure out who he is, and now what's wrong with him, and he's confused. I can see how that might be hard, but those people have loved him since he was an infant and he just can't understand that they love him, adopted or not."

"You don't think Baby'll love you?" Callie realized.

Her eyes were quick to fill with tears. Hormones were partly to blame for that, but Arizona's thought process also deeply saddened her.

"I don't want to be the third wheel in this kid's life," she admitted. "I'm not saying that Mark shouldn't be involved. That's not where I'm going with this. As much as he can get on my nerves, he loves Baby too. We'll make it work. I know that."

"Right."

"But I don't want Baby to feel like you're it's 'real' parents and I'm just pretending. I'm all in here. I'm not pretending. I may not be a biological parent, but I am a real parent. There's a difference."

"I know," she said as she gave her a kiss. "Arizona, this baby won't view you as any less of a parent than Mark and I. I promise you that. For starters, Baby's story is going to be different from your patient's. We're going to be open about it from the beginning. We don't really have much choice, since he or she will probably figure out that their family looks a little different."

"Yeah."

"But even if we did have a choice, I'd want the baby to know that you _chose_ to be Mommy," Callie smiled. "You didn't have to and, technically, you still don't. You could be here, but just be my girlfriend and baby's friend or something. But you chose to be its mom. That's beautiful, Arizona. Much more beautiful than me just finding myself pregnant. I'm not saying that I'm not happy to be pregnant. I am. It's just that I think your and Baby's story is amazing."

She smiled.

"Our baby won't feel like a piece of their identity isn't there, either," she pointed out. "That'll help. There's no reason to believe that he or she won't love you just as much as they love me. You're you. Kids love you. You're going to be the best mom this baby could have."

"I don't know about that," she said. "I hear that its other mom is stunning, and smart, and funny, and thoughtful, and she says all of the right things when the people she loves need her to."

"Well then we'll have the most loved baby ever," she smiled.

"I'm actually going to be a mom," Arizona said as she picked up the onesie that her girlfriend had already showed her. "We're going to dress _our_ tiny human in this."

"Sometimes I still can't believe it either," she admitted. "I felt flutters today. I don't know for sure that it was Baby, but I really think it was."

"Yay!"

"Oh, and Mark also freaked me out today," she added.

"Why?"

"He informed me that he was nine and a half pounds at birth," she said. "I called my dad to double check what I was and I was eight thirteen."

"I was a very petite six pounds, nine ounces," she told her.

"Sadly, I don't think that changes the fact that I may be giving birth to a pretty large baby," she replied. "Hopefully baby decides to do its own thing and be tiny like Mommy, but..."

"It'll be fine," she assured her as she picked up a little onesie that had large rainbow coloured polka dots on it. "Calliope, our baby is going to fit in this tiny thing!"

"Did you not just hear me say that I was nearly nine pounds and Mark was well over that? We may skip the newborn clothing and go right to the zero to three month stuff."

"Oh, it's not like you were both ten pounders," she laughed.

"Says the one not pushing it out."

"You'll just be breaking my hand," she said. "Now lay down."

"Lay down?" she asked.

"Just do it."

Callie laid back and Arizona rested her head on the Ortho surgeon's small baby belly.

"I love you," she said as she kissed it.

"Oh, Baby already gets all of the attention, huh?" Callie joked.

"And I love your madre, too," she added. "I'm going to marry her one day. Yes, I am!"

Callie felt the same fluttery feeling that she had experienced before. Now that she was lying completely still and it had happened again, she was even more convinced that these were their baby's first movements.

"Oh!"

"What?"

"More flutters."

"Where?" Arizona asked.

She knew that there was no way that she would be able to feel them at this point. The baby had to grow some more and get a little stronger before any little kicks and punches would be felt externally. Still, she wanted to know as much as possible.

"Right here," Callie smiled, placing her hand very low down.

"We can't wait to meet you," Arizona said as she hovered her lips over that spot.


	5. In My Daughter's Eyes

**Four-year-old Sofia's simplistic wisdom helps to cheer her mother up on a tough day. **

* * *

She had come a long way since the plane crash that had taken her leg. Both physically and emotionally, Arizona had made amazing progress. She would never be exactly the same woman because something that big was bound to change a part of her forever. She had learned that this was okay, though. She was no longer filled with the kind of sadness that left her unable to function. Instead, she let the sadness be there, but she pushed past it. The blond had worked hard to be able to do so many things again and there were days were these accomplishments made her feel like she was on top of the world. If she could survive - and even thrive - after that, she could do anything.

Yet, Arizona would be lying if she said that the hard days didn't come. She still experienced her phantom limb pain from time to time, and today it was in full force. She had discovered great ways of coping with it, so it wasn't so much the pain that was bringing her down. It was the fact that the pain was holding her back, she felt. She had been at the park with Sofia and it had forced her to take two breaks where she had to sit down and take it easy. The little lady didn't seem to care all that much, but it was hard for Arizona to have to do.

Just as she put her prosthetic back on after taking it off to cope with more of her pains, Sofia came walking into her bedroom with a Popsicle in her hand and another in her mouth.

"Want a Popsicle, Mommy?" she asked. "Madre says we could have some."

"Sure," she answered, "Thank you."

The little girl could tell that her mommy was upset. She and her wife never really hid their feelings from her because they didn't want her to get the idea that it was healthy to bottle up her own emotions. They had made this choice shortly after the crash and they had stuck with it. Of course, they kept their words age appropriate, but it was just as acceptable for her to see moments of frustration and sadness as it was for her to see moments of joy and celebration.

"What's wrong?" she asked, taking her treat out of her mouth.

She smiled. They had such a sweet kid. She was already feeling a little better just because Sofia cared about what she was going through.

"I'm just a little sad because I only have one leg," she explained. "Things were easier with two. That's all."

A confused look washed over the four-year-old's face. She didn't say anything for a whole minute or so. Instead, she just stepped back and glanced down at Arizona's leg, her eyes shifting back and forth. Arizona couldn't help but laugh as the expression reminded her so much of Callie.

"What are you thinking about, Baby?" she asked her.

She looked up. This time, her serious expression transformed to remind her of the friend and father that they had lost. Once upon a time, she had wished, hoped, and admittedly even prayed sometimes that aspects of that man not find their way into her girl, but now they helped. Mark had become a great friend and it was good to still have a piece of him around. Plus, in moments like these, she was reminded that Mark and Lexie would give anything to be alive, even if it meant that they would share her struggles. The pity party would quickly end.

"Mommy, you have two legs," she said as if it was an indisputable fact and her mother had lost her mind.

Arizona looked down. Sofia's innocent eyes just saw things for what they were, she realized as she studied both of her feet. One was her own and she had received the other, but they were both hers. She never thought that her child's perspective would hold so much meaning, but it did. To Sofia, both Mommy's leg and her prosthetic were of equal value. They allowed her to walk. It was that simple. Wasn't that what legs were for?

"You're right," Arizona smiled as happy tears filled her eyes.

"Why are you crying?"

"Because I'm so lucky to have you," she said. "You're the best Sofia I know."

She stood up and took her Popsicle. She playfully tapped it against the top of Sofia's head as they left the room together.

"Sophia F. in Mrs. Ingle's class is pretty cool," her child told her. "She's having a pool party for her birthday and she said I'm invited. Me and Zola are both gonna go."

"You've decided, huh?"

"Yep," she said. "We got to buy cool bathing suits."

"You're four and you already care about being cool?"

"Mommy, it's a _pool party_," she emphasised. "I had a princess party. Do you know the difference?"

She laughed.

"Well, I still think you're the best Sofia," she insisted. "Tell me what makes a bathing suit 'cool'"

"If it's purple," she decided.

For a minute there, Arizona was thinking that maybe her four-year-old had suddenly become fourteen. No, there was still plenty of little girl left inside of her. She was just excited for her first ever pool party.

"I see," she smiled as they entered the living area. "Madre, did you know we have the best Sofia ever?"

"I did," she agreed.

"I made Mommy happy," Sofia smiled.

"You did?" Callie questioned.

"Uh huh," she nodded. "She's just like all the other mommies. She just got a special leg."

"I love you," Arizona told her.

"I love you more."

"Not possible," she replied.

"Then can you let me have a pool party when I'm five years old?"

"We'll see," Callie said. "That's still a long time away."

"But I gotta invite people."

"Not eight months in advance," Arizona laughed. "For now, how about we have a Popsicle party?"


	6. Hate That I Love You

**Today's (later than usual, but still up on time in my time zone!) chapter is all about how I imagine Callie and Arizona may have spent the night during and after that oh-so-meaningful episode of American BakeOff. I know it's far from happy, but there shouldn't be a quick fix to those types of feelings.**

* * *

Neither of them had ever been so tense during an episode of the show. Usually, it was fun to watch as the amateur bakers stressed themselves out over cupcakes and other baked goods. After long days in the OR where they felt what they considered to be much more important pressure, it was humorous to see someone panicking over cookies. Tonight they were both holding their breath as they watched though. It wasn't because they cared about who won the big prize, but because they didn't have a clue how the rest of the night would go.

Even sitting together on the couch wasn't the same anymore. Commercial breaks were horribly long and awkward. Should they talk? What should they say? Should Callie let Arizona lead the way? What if Arizona wanted Callie to speak first?

The Latina reached out to place a hand lovingly across her wife's lap then realized that this probably wouldn't be a welcome gesture. Sometimes, even just for a second, she forgot about all of the devastating things that had gone on.

"I..."

"Breathing in and out seems impossible sometimes," her wife admitted.

Callie could relate. Things seemed so hard lately that she often wanted to give up and let the weight of the grief and anger crush her. She wasn't the one who lost a limb. Arizona must have felt even worse. She knew this, but sometimes it was hard to be strong for her when she was crumbling inside herself. She was only human.

"I know."

"But I stood up today," she said.

"You did," she replied.

"I know I'm not the woman you married anymore," she said. "I don't know if I'll ever be. I don't know if I'll ever want to open my eyes and get out of bed in the morning, but this is the best that I can do for now."

"Thank you," she said.

Saying these words without the usual anger that had taken her over lately had to have been difficult. Saying anything like this at all had to have been scary. Admitting just how hard things had been in words was something she hadn't completely done yet.

"I hated you," she told her. "When I woke up without my leg, I hated you. For a long, long time, I hated you."

Tears filled her baby blues now. Hating the woman who she had vowed to spend the rest of her life with - the woman with whom she shared a child - was just as debilitating as the physical challenges she faced now in this new life.

"I figured," she replied.

She tried not to cry as well, but how could she possibly hold that in? No amount of composure in the world was going to do her any good.

"I'm working on it," she told her. "You've taken my leg and you've yelled at me, and you haven't been the wife that I married. For that...for that I'm angry. Furious."

Callie opened her mouth to respond, but her words were going to be harsh if she let them out. She spoke them. She had to. However, she said them in her head instead of out loud.

"I need a shoulder to cry on," she said. "I need to be able to cry and scream and be a monster and I need you to stop telling me what to do. Quit telling me to 'snap out of it.' Quit forcing me to try. If I say I'm not getting out of bed that day and all I want to do is cry, let me. You have no idea what I've been through or what I'm going through."

Callie was understandably upset by this very one-sided conversation, but in a way, she was happy that her wife was getting so much of this out. She needed to. It was the only way that any of this could ever become bearable again. Brutal honesty was a must.

"As much as I don't want to love you anymore, I can't stop," the blond said. "I just can't. So be my wife, even though I just said all of that. Please."

"Arizona, I haven't gone anywhere," she said. "And I won't."

"Even if I never stop hating you?"

"Even if you never stop hating me."

Arizona turned the T.V. off midway through the episode. She was exhausted and she really didn't want to watch another second of people acting like baked goods mattered. She thought she wanted to, but it turned out that it really just made her want to do horrible things to each hopeful contestant.

She let her wife help her into bed. For the first time in what felt like decades, Callie lay beside her. They didn't touch. Arizona wasn't ready for that yet. Instead, she stayed stiff as a board on her side of the bed absolutely terrified that she was going to do something to make Arizona even angrier with her. Arizona cried herself to sleep. As soon as she appeared to be sleeping, Callie let it all out as well. This wasn't how being in their marital bed should have ever felt. It should have been a safe, loving place where they felt wanted and at peace.

Still, even if it was difficult, it was a milestone. They were making progress. Pain was going to be a part of that, but one day, they would be back to themselves again. One day Arizona would let her hold her. One day they might even feel joy again. She was heartbroken, yet hopeful nonetheless.

"I love you," she whispered in the dark. "I love you, I love you, I love you..."


	7. Pucker Up

**I thought I'd write about some fun between a little girl and her mommies for today. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Can you come drink your juice in our room, please?" Callie asked as she handed Sofia her refilled cup. "Mama and I need to get ready for our date night. C'mon."

"No," she refused.

The infamous "terrible twos" had definitely hit. Of course, Sofia was also still such a sweet child, but she certainly loved to test the limits. If she didn't want to do something, they knew it. She had even refused to partake in some of her favourite activities lately simply because her mothers had suggested them.

"C'mon, Sofia," Arizona encouraged her. "We can put on some music and you can have a little dance party."

Now that she felt a little more included in this date night prep, the little girl decided that maybe that wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. She loved music and her mommies found her uncoordinated toddler dance moves to be hilarious, so she got plenty of attention for them. She followed them into their bedroom.

"I just don't think she likes when we L-E-A-V-E," Arizona told her wife. "We have to make this worth her while."

"Yesterday she didn't like milk," Callie replied. "How am I supposed to make that worth her while? Buy her a cow? Sometimes she's just being stubborn. There can't _always _be a reason behind it. Plus, date night is a must."

Working on their relationship was crucial. The last several months had been such a struggle for each of them individually and for the two of them as a couple. Going out, even if it was just to a child-free dinner, every now and then was something that they made a priority. It made them better moms and it was helping them reconnect. They made sure that they weren't on-call, found a babysitter, and went out at least once every few weeks. Sometimes they talked about serious topics and sometimes they just let loose, but it was working for them.

"I know it is," she agreed as she put on some music for Sofia. "What moves do you have for us this time?" she asked. "What kind of number are you going to do?"

She began dancing to some of Mommy's favourite songs as if no one was even watching her. She was so uninhibited at this age and she made every move count.

"You're so good, Sofia!" Callie clapped for her. "Are you going to be a dancer when you grow up?"

"No," she said as she took a drink from her cup.

"Are you going to be...a princess?" Mommy smiled.

"No."

"Not your thing, huh?" Callie replied. "Are you going to be whatever makes you happiest?"

"Mama."

"Oh, you'll be a mama?" Arizona smiled. "That's the best job in the whole world."

"Yeah?" she asked. "Baby?"

"You love your baby, don't you?" Callie asked.

For now their girl only had one doll. She was starting to really find pretend play interesting, so they were assuming that her brood of babies would be growing pretty quickly in the near future, though.

"We love being doctors, but we can't _wait_ to come home and be mommies," Arizona told Sofia. "Our little girl is the best kid I've ever met."

"Yeah?"

"Who would that be?" Callie asked. "Who's ours?"

She pointed to herself and giggled.

"You!" Arizona exclaimed. "What's your name?"

"Sof," she said softly.

"Sofia," she said. "You're Miss Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres, right?"

"Sof," she simplified.

"You're also just Sof," she agreed. "That works, too."

Sofia left the room and returned a minute later with her baby doll. Her mommies were not dancing today - since they were about to start getting ready - so she needed to recruit her own little partner. She danced for some time as her moms got ready and watched her do her thing.

"I don't know, Madre," Arizona said as she put on her lipstick. "Date night might be fun, but I think Sofia's dance party might be a _little _better than our movie and night out at Joe's tonight. Sofia and her baby are going to have all of the fun."

Sofia dropped her baby doll and went over to Mommy. She grabbed onto her arm because she wanted her to know that she was invited to join the dance party at any time.

"Ready?" the blond smiled before she began to slowly spin her around in a circle. "Spin!"

Even though she couldn't possibly have been turning any slower, Sofia ended up losing her balance and falling over. She didn't fall hard and she wasn't hurt, but she still began to tear up.

"You're alright," Mommy told her as she picked her up and gave her a kiss. "That's not how it was supposed to go. I know. That wasn't fun."

She buried her head into Arizona for a minute, but she did eventually look up. She began to study herself in the mirror. Arizona's red lip print was now on her chubby little cheek.

"Hey!" she laughed since she had suddenly seemed to forget all about her fall.

"How'd that get there?!" Mommy asked as she planted a second kiss on her while she watched.

Sofia had a huge grin plastered on her face as she looked over at Callie. Madre had to get in on this fun.

"Maday!" she practically squealed.

"You want lipstick kisses from Madre, too?" Arizona smiled. "Go see her."

Mommy put her big girl down and Sofia headed over to Callie. Madre had a darker shade of red on her lips and Sofia decided that she'd like that one on her face.

"Red," she said, pointing to her other mother's lip prints on her skin.

Callie bent down and placed three quick smooches on her toddler's face. Each of these was given along with a few tickles which had caused the most glorious laughter to begin. Who would have thought that a little lipstick could cause so much joy? Sofia started walking back and forth between her parents as they each kissed her in order to leave more and more lipstick on her face. In fact, they both actually had to reapply it in order to continue.

"Would you like some, Miss Torres?" Mommy asked.

Sofia was just going to be spending the night with a babysitter. In fact, she would be having dinner, taking a bath, reading a few stories, and heading to bed after they left. Normally playing with their makeup was disallowed, but Arizona couldn't think of a reason why this wouldn't be okay tonight. What fun would life be if they never broke a rule in order to have some silly fun every now and then?

"Pease, Mama?" she replied.

She walked over and pointed to her own lips. She was practically bouncing due to the excitement that was building up within her. This was something for the biggest of the big girls and _she _got to do it.

"Thanks for saying please," she told her as she put a touch of the red stuff onto her lips.

Sofia puckered them up. It was clear that she felt so mature and so special.

"Ooo...fancy lady!" Mommy smiled. "Show Madre."

She turned around to reveal her "makeover" to Callie.

"Wow!" Callie exclaimed.

Sofia kissed Arizona's hand. She had Mommy's lipstick all over her face now and she felt that the blond needed a touch of hers.

"Oh, thank you! Go give Madre some lipstick."

Sofia repeated what she had just done on Callie's hand. She didn't quite know how to leave proper lip prints behind, so they looked like smudges, but Sofia was so proud of them.

"Is our lipstick party fun?" Arizona questioned.

"Oh, Sofia's not having any fun!" Callie teased.

"Yeah!" Sofia protested. "Pity, Maday!"

"Can we take your picture, Beautiful?" she asked.

"Yep!"

"We might not make it to our movie," Arizona pointed out.

The plan had been to go see a new romantic comedy and then to head to Joe's for a drink or two. However, they hadn't laughed quite _this _hard in a long time and she didn't exactly want to cut it short. Sofia would go to bed and then they could have their date night.

"Just Joe's?" Callie asked. "Is that good enough?"

"I'd say that still counts as date night," she nodded.


	8. Life Is Short

**While reflecting on Mark and Lexie's past, Arizona tells her wife just how glad she is that she made a different decision regarding being a part of Sofia's life.**

* * *

Callie watched as Sofia ever so carefully adjusted the pink headband in her hair. She was taking such pride in her appearance and she loved it. It wasn't that they wanted to raise a vain or conceited child, but it was just sweet to see that Sofia was still trying to be Daddy's little girl in whatever ways she could now that her father wasn't physically present in her life. She had picked out her entire outfit on her own because she wanted to look pretty for her daddy's party.

It was a week after the anniversary of the plane crash and, as usual, most of the Seattle Grace Mercy West family was gathering to celebrate the lives of Mark and Lexie once again. They had done this every year. It never took place on the actual crash date – since that was too painful for some – but instead a few days after. It wasn't like they _needed _to remember considering that their friends were never far from their thoughts, but it still felt like a nice tribute. They tried to keep the mood as upbeat as possible. They weren't redoing their funerals. This was meant to celebrate the memories that they had made with them.

"You look nice, Mija," Callie told her.

"I know," she smiled. "You too."

"You're supposed to say 'thank you,'" Arizona reminded her as she came out of the bedroom.

"Thank you," she corrected herself. "Mommy, you look pretty, too."

"Thanks."

"You ready to go?" Callie asked them.

Sofia looked down at her mom's feet. Arizona still missed being able to wear high heels on special days like this one, but she had found a way to love her flats almost just as much. Sofia had helped pick these particular ones out which made the Pediatric surgeon smile whenever she looked down at them. Surprisingly, Sofia and Arizona shared a very similar fashion sense already.

"I think those shoes are the best ones," she told her.

"Me too," she nodded. "Let's go."

Sofia was studying pictures of Mark and Lexie that they had scattered around the large room. The other children were playing a game, but she didn't seem interested right now. Nobody could relate to Sofia's position. They hadn't had to grow up only hearing about one of their parents. They had done their best to keep Mark's memory alive for her, but she still sometimes had questions about his life and his death.

"What's up over here?" Arizona asked as she and her wife eventually went up to her.

"Lexie was very pretty," she smiled. "I know why Daddy loved her."

"She was."

Arizona pointed to the picture that Mark had accidently snapped of himself on the night that they had brought her home from the hospital for the first time. She thought Sofia might get a kick out of the story behind it. Of course, she had seen many, many pictures of her dad, but they also tried not to overwhelm her with all of them at once. Eventually, she would see all of the best ones.

"He didn't know how to work the camera," she explained. "Instead of taking pictures of you, he got that one of himself."

"He's smilin' silly," she giggled.

Just then, almost-three-year-old Alexandra "Andie" Sloan Grey-Shepherd came walking over. Her big sister had been acting lovingly towards her all day, but the two had just gotten into a little spat and she wanted nothing to do with her at the moment. Callie and Arizona were cool, she thought. She would go hang out with them for a while.

"Hey, Andie," Arizona smiled.

"What you's doin'?" she asked.

"We're looking at pictures of Uncle Mark and Auntie Lexie. Do you want to see?"

"I was borned when they died, but you weren't," Sofia explained. "You don't really know them."

"She knows who they are," Callie said. "She's named after them, right?"

"Me too," she said. "Andie, my middle name...one of them is the same as you."

"It is," Arizona nodded as she showed Andie the photograph. "That's your crazy Uncle Mark."

Callie noticed that another one was displayed close by. She didn't remember bringing it, but her wife must have. It was one that Sofia had seen, but not really been old enough to appreciate, before.

"This is the first picture of you and Daddy," she showed her.

"I'm not there," she said.

"You're lying in that incubator. You can hardly see you, but you're there."

"Oh. Can I keep it?"

"It's ours," she said. "But you can put it in your room if you want to. Sure."

After looking at a few more pictures from back when Mark and Lexie were dating, Arizona walked away. Callie followed, leaving Sofia and Andie to play. Not surprisingly, there were tears in the blonde's eyes.

"I know this is always hard because they should be here. We shouldn't have to think about them being at peace in Heaven, because they should be here."

"No," she said. "Well, yes. But that's not why I'm crying."

"What's wrong?"

Arizona sat down and pointed over to Sofia who was tickling her buddy. She was smart, happy, healthy, and perfect. She was absolutely everything that any mother would want their child to be.

"It seems like such a waste," she said. "Mark and Lexie wasted all of that time."

"They knew they loved each other by the end," she told her.

"Yeah, but still. They wasted all of that time broken up because Mark wanted a life that Lexie didn't. I'm not saying that she wished any harm on Sofia or anything. Lexie was not a bad person and neither was Mark. They just wanted different things and they couldn't make it work."

"I know."

"That could've been us."

"What?" she asked.

"When you got pregnant, I could have made a different choice. Can you imagine what our lives would be like? Especially mine? I know mine clearly hasn't been a picnic. I lost my leg, but we're together and we're in love and we're that girl's parents. I'm so glad I didn't waste a second."

"Yeah."

"Well, except for when we broke up because I thought I didn't want this," she said. "And Africa. But Africa gave us our girl. As much as I never want to hear details –"

"And I never want to give them," Callie cringed. "Please."

"Sofia's here because of it. That part's good."

"Definitely."

Understandably, Arizona saw just how fragile life was in a way that some people just couldn't. She could have died right alongside Mark and Lexie. It hadn't been an easy journey back to herself, but she had made it. She would never be completely the same woman anymore, but she was realizing more and more that maybe some of that was good. She knew not to take anything for granted now, and she would do her best not to.

"I love you," Callie said.

"I love you, too," she replied. "Also, I'm pretty sure Lexie secretly loved Sofia. I mean, how could she not? She probably just didn't want some third baby to appear for Mark to raise once she agreed to raise Sof."

Her wife laughed.


	9. Eat It

**This time I decided to write about another possible example of Arizona and Callie's "good cop/bad cop" parenting philosophies. **

* * *

Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres was a picky eater. To be more precise, she was only interested in eating chicken nuggets these days. She had been a good eater up until now. Her second year of life had brought with it a love of challenging her mothers. Even when they tried not to pay any mind to her stubborn ways, her behaviour somehow always seemed to get their attention. The more they talked about it, the more she would make a fuss about eating foods that she formerly enjoyed.

Her parents understood this, but they didn't exactly agree about how to go about solving the issue. They both agreed that they wouldn't make Sofia different dinners every night. They weren't short order cooks. Still, Arizona was more lenient. In her opinion, Sofia didn't have to try anything that she didn't want to. Callie wanted her to at least try a single bite of each dinner before she decided that she wasn't eating it.

There had to be a better way. They wanted dinner time to be about coming together as a family and not about nightly battles. What could they do to convince her that foods other than chicken nuggets could be just as good? Today it was Arizona's turn to make dinner since she was home before her wife. She had an idea.

"Sofia, would you like to help me make dinner?" she asked just before her wife's arrival.

She tried to make it sound as fun as possible. Sofia was pretty interested in her toys, but maybe helping prepare tonight's meal would make her less likely to put up a fuss over it.

"Nuggies?" she replied.

"No, we aren't having nuggets," she said. "We are having chicken, though. It's like nuggets."

"No," she said.

"Do you want to help me make dinner for Madre still?" she questioned. "I think that would be fun. We're having mashed potatoes, too. You can help me mash them up. C'mon. I need a helper."

"Help?" she asked.

"I need your help," she told her. "Please? Look what I have for you."

She held up a tiny red apron that had an "S" on it. Making the preparation of their meals a good experience for her little girl would hopefully be a step in the right direction and the cute accessory wouldn't hurt.

Sofia decided to give it a try. She let Mommy help her put on the apron and wash her hands before she began to mash the potatoes. Arizona had already mashed them for the most part, so there wasn't much that she was actually doing. However, she felt like she had an important job to do and she was enjoying her time in the kitchen.

"You're such a good potato masher," Arizona told her. "Those look so good."

"Yeah?"

"Absolutely," she nodded.

She placed three little food colouring bottles in front of Sofia. Adding food colouring just might help to make the potatoes more appealing to the little lady, she guessed.

"Which colour would you like to make our potatoes today?"

"Ummm...blue," she decided.

"Blue is the most delicious," Arizona said as she added a few drops. "Stir them up and they'll turn blue. I'll help."

Callie arrived home just as Arizona was plating Sofia's meal. She wasn't refusing to come to the table without chicken nuggets today. Sure, she also didn't exactly seem like she was going to dig right in, but Arizona wasn't about to make her wait if she was willing to sit down for dinner right now.

"What are you wearing?" Callie asked her. "Is that an apron?"

"We had to pick up a few things before we came home this afternoon and I thought she'd like it," Arizona explained. "Considering she decided to wear it to the table, I'd say she does."

Callie gave their daughter a kiss.

"You look very grown up in your apron, Sofia," she complimented her.

"That would be _Chef _Sofia," Mommy corrected.

"What's on the menu tonight?" Callie asked as Arizona brought Sofia her plate.

"What did we make, my little Sous Chef?" Arizona questioned. "Tell Madre."

"No nuggies," she told her.

"No, we didn't make nuggets," she agreed. "Madre, we made chicken, and blue mashed potatoes and these magical broccoli trees with a cheesy sauce."

"I see," Callie said. "And if this goes well, we'll be eating multi-coloured foods now?"

"If she eats, I'll add as much food colouring as her little heart desires," her wife nodded.

Sofia picked up one of her broccoli pieces. She hadn't dipped it into the cheese sauce yet, so Arizona didn't know if that would do the trick. Instead, she was just looking at it as if she needed to decide whether or not trying it would be a good idea.

"Sofia, what do magical broccoli trees do?" Arizona asked her.

"Huh?"

"They help kids like you grow big and strong and healthy, right? Remember? Is that what they do with their magic?"

They didn't say anything else for a few minutes. They just wanted to see what she would do on her own without them encouraging her too much. If she felt like they were nagging her, this wouldn't go over quite as well.

To their surprise, just a few minutes into the meal Sofia had already sampled some of it. She had taken a bite of her vegetable. She didn't seem to like it very much, but that was okay. They all had foods that they didn't enjoy. Just the fact that she was open to tasting it was a major victory.

"Good job," Arizona praised her.

Callie raised her glass and tapped it against Sofia's cup.

"To Chef Sofia," she smiled. "Thanks for trying some new food."

* * *

By the end of the meal, Sofia had tried that one bite of broccoli, one of the chicken, and about three or four from her special blue potato serving. While this wasn't exactly a full meal's worth of food, her parents were still satisfied. She had only started to complain about the menu a couple of times during their dinner and she had continued to taste things even after they told her that they were not going to put away her plate and make her chicken nuggets. Tonight hadn't ended in a mess of tears and tiny human drama. For that, Callie and Arizona were grateful.

"Do you like to cook?" Callie asked her as they played together later that night.

"Yes," she said. "Go blue!"

"We put the blue in and the potatoes went blue," Arizona smiled. "Tomorrow would you like to make pasta salad with noodles that are all different colours? I bought some with lots of colours today."

"No," she decided.

"No?" Callie asked. "You're not quite ready to branch out that much?"

"Um, no," she said.

"At least we know that you like blue potatoes."

"Nuggies," she added.

"And nuggets," Arizona said. "Trust me, we know that."

"Your mama had a good idea," Callie admitted. "Maybe sometimes the good cop wins."

Arizona gave her a kiss.

"The bad cop's still pretty great," she told her. "I happen to love her, you know."


	10. Rumour Has It

**Today I decided to write about what "the talk" that Arizona heard about Callie before they officially met at Joe's may have been. **

* * *

The newest Pediatric surgery attending at Seattle Grace stood at the nurses' station. She was supposed to be checking Jackson Prescott's chart to keep herself updated on how his night had been, but she found that she was distracted instead. She could see right into the room of a little boy who had just had his shattered femur surgically repaired, and there was something about the resident who was rounding on him that had caught her eye all of the sudden.

She had heard that Dr. Torres had been going through some difficult personal things lately, but she still tended to want to know more about the gorgeous woman. Who at that hospital hadn't had a rocky relationship or two? She wasn't going to hold that against her.

She had also learned that Callie Torres was one of the most talented Ortho residents that this place had. She was innovative and she took risks to give her patients the best possible outcomes that she could. That showed that she was caring. This even made her daring, which was interesting. Many people seemed to find Ortho boring. Arizona had been one of them, but hearing about some of the things that Torres had been doing or thinking about doing in her department was starting to make her change her mind.

On top of it all, Callie was very, very attractive. She wasn't her usual type, but there was something about her that the bubbly blonde was drawn to. She was stunning. To be honest, it shocked Arizona that people had managed to break that woman's heart. If she was lucky enough to have someone like her, she would do her best to make her happy as often as she possibly could. She barely knew her, yet she was sure that she deserved to be treated like a queen.

"Dr. Robbins...?"

Arizona felt herself returning back to reality. She hadn't been paying very close attention to her surroundings, she realized.

"Yes?" she asked. "What can I do for you, Dr. Bailey?"

"Jackson," she said. "It's not looking good, is it?"

Arizona studied the chart for a quick second. That was all it took for her to confirm Miranda's fears.

"No," she replied. "No, it's not."

"Maybe if you could take your eyes off of Dr. Torres for a minute..."

"Excuse me?" she asked. "Dr. Bailey, I can't make UNOS give Jackson new organs. We're doing everything we can for him, but none of this is my fault."

Dr. Bailey drew a deep breath.

"You're right," she agreed. "I'm sorry, Dr. Robbins. I'm just –"

"Thinking with your heart instead of your head?" she replied. "I know. It's tough not to in Peds. It's hard in any specialty, but there's something about the tiny humans that makes it harder."

"Tiny humans?"

"Tiny humans," she nodded.

"You are certainly one of a kind Arizona Robbins," she told her. "With the roller skates, the pink, the ponytail, and the 'tiny humans."

"Is that your way of saying that you're still not very fond of me?" she responded.

"No, I am," she revealed. "I'm frustrated with UNOS, but I have to admit that you probably know what you're doing. As much as I didn't want to say it at first, you do."

"Well, thank you," she smiled. "Have you updated Jackson's mom yet?"

"I have," she nodded. "Have you talked to Dr. Torres yet?"

"I have not," she shook her head. "I thought you didn't talk about personal things at work?"

"I don't," she said. "But you have barely looked at me, and I'd like you to look at me if we're going to work together today. So I'll let you get it out of your system. Thirty seconds before I tell you to pull it together and quit acting like she's made of sunshine, or rainbows, or whatever it is you would say."

"She's unavailable isn't she?" she questioned. "I know she's single, but she's not ready for something, is she?"

"I don't know," she answered. "She's had it rough, but I don't know what she's ready for."

"I've heard good things."

"Torres is good," she said. "She's smart, she's driven, she's unique, she's not one to give up without a fight, even when she probably should..."

"Oh."

"Your thirty seconds are up."

"What?"

"We have a boy to save. Focus!"

"I'm focused," she promised her colleague. "At least he was stable all night. That's good. That bought us some time, I think."

"Did it really or are you just saying that?" she wondered.

"It really did. I really believe that," she reassured her as Callie walked out of the other patient's room. "Good morning, Dr. Torres."

"Yeah, hi," Callie quickly replied as she walked off.

"Good morning, Dr. Torres!'" Dr. Bailey mimicked.

"Oh, drop it," Arizona blushed. "I'm calling UNOS."

"What will that do?"

"Do you have a better idea?"

"No."

"Exactly."

While Arizona was on the phone with UNOS – who obviously couldn't tell her very much – Jackson's mother, Melinda, called Dr. Bailey into the room. She had questions. They were the same as always, but she just had to ask them. They were the only thing she had control over, it seemed like.

"Dr. Robbins?" a nurse spoke up.

"What?"

"For what it's worth, I think Dr. Torres could use somebody. She was sleeping with Dr. Sloan. Now he's apparently with Lexie Grey. I'm not supposed to know that, so don't say anything, but I overheard Dr. Grey and Dr. Sloan yesterday. Dr. Torres is probably so lonely and, personally, she's one of my favourites around here. She's been a little pathetic lately, though. She could use some cheering up."

"Thanks," she smiled. "Am I too cheery, though? For her?"

"I like you," she said. "You're in Peds. It works for you."

"That's what I think, too," she agreed.

"And opposites attract right? Not that Dr. Torres is incapable of joy or anything, but..."

"I've never realized how much the nurses know around here."

"We know a lot."


	11. Here Is The News

**I decided to write my version of how I think the moms-to-be may have shared the news of Callie's pregnancy with Arizona's parents. **

**(Side note: I Wanna Grow Old With You and Against All Odds will both be updated this weekend/early next week. I've been working on both.)**

* * *

"How are you so calm?" Callie asked.

The Robbins were flying in to spend a few days with their daughter and her girlfriend. They thought that Arizona had asked them to come simply because she hadn't seen them in a while, but that wasn't the only reason. They would also find out that they were going to be grandparents.

As the ladies got ready for the day, Callie felt tense. She wasn't looking forward to telling Arizona's parents this news because she felt like they would instantly judge her. She wanted them to see that she really did love their daughter and that this was going to be a good thing. This baby would make them a family. She just hoped that they would look past the details and see that much.

Arizona, on the other hand, was acting like it was any other day. She was her usual self and she didn't seem nervous at all.

"Calliope, I've _come out_ to them," she pointed out. "Though, I don't think my parents were too surprised. But still. They've heard me say that I had zero interest in men and that I wasn't going to marry one. If I could get those words out of my mouth, then I can surely tell them that they're going to be grandparents. My mom's going to be so excited. I think she's always secretly wanted grandchildren, but she's never pushed me because she just wanted me to have the life that I wanted."

"I came out to my parents and it was horrible," Callie said. "Plus, this isn't _just _about us giving them a grandchild. Your parents are going to think I'm a terrible person. Your mom may want grandbabies, but I don't think this was what she pictured. You going to Africa and me ending up pregnant like this."

"I don't think the details will thrill them. The details don't thrill me, really. But the most important thing to them is that I'm happy. And you make me happy," she smiled. "You and our baby. My parents will see that."

"And your dad won't want to hurt me for hurting his little girl?" she asked. "Because my dad likes to hurt people who hurt me. Not that it's right, but it has happened."

"You're a pregnant woman," Arizona said. "I think you're safe. Besides, you did hurt me, but I hurt you, too. We're moving on, though. All that matters now is that we're back together and you're working on growing that perfect little fetus."

"I feel like I'm going to throw up."

"More morning sickness?" she asked. "It's been better for the last few days. I wonder what -?"

"I'm freaking out!" she replied. "That's what's happening."

Arizona gave her a kiss. She could understand why she was so on edge, but she didn't want her to be. This would go well. Even if it didn't, she wasn't going to let her parents rip the woman she loved to shreds. If they loved her, they would accept Calliope for who she was, and they would also love the baby.

"Relax," she smiled. "It's going to be fine."

"If you tell me that the baby doesn't want me stressing out, I'll –"

"I don't want you stressing out," she told her. "You don't have to fear my parents. Even my dad."

"Okay."

"But you're right. The baby really wouldn't want you stressing out," she added.

"I knew you'd say it."

"What? Our jobs are stressful enough. You need to be relaxed more often. Stop worrying so much."

* * *

Callie tried to take her advice and stop obsessing over what telling Arizona's parents might look like. She couldn't completely stop worrying, but she could try to just be in the moment and enjoy the day.

Knowing that Callie wasn't looking forward to it, Arizona tried to start the conversation in a very casual way. Their little one was a big deal, but she didn't want to make a big deal out of the announcement. That wouldn't be best from Callie's point of view, she didn't think.

"So, Calliope and I have a little news," she simply said over dinner that night.

"You're not getting married, are you?" her mother asked. "Are you getting married?!"

"Wouldn't it be too soon?" Daniel commented. "They just got back together not very long ago, Barbara."

"No, we're not getting married," she answered. "Well, yes. One day we will, but not now."

The rest of Callie's nerves returned. If Arizona's dad thought that it was much too soon for a wedding, he certainly wasn't going to be happy about the baby.

"Then what is this news?" Barbara wondered.

"We're going to have a baby," she said, not really knowing how else to say it. "Calliope's pregnant."

"That's wonderful!" the grandma-to-be smiled. "I always knew you'd have a family someday, Arizona."

"You just got back together," her father stated.

He wasn't necessarily unhappy or judgmental, but he just didn't understand why his daughter would suddenly be making the decision to start a family at this particular time.

"Daniel, she makes Arizona happy," Barbara said. "We both know that. It's soon, but they're grown women who know what they want. It's not like they could just get pregnant on accident. They obviously had to plan this. They've thought about it."

"Actually," Arizona said, drawing a deep breath. "This wasn't exactly planned."

"What do you mean?"

"When I was in Africa, Calliope slept with someone else," she revealed.

"And –" her father started.

"And I'm not thrilled about that, but I've decided to be a part of this," she continued. "I love Calliope and I'm going to be this baby's mom. The father will be involved, too, but that doesn't mean that this baby is any less mine. I know this isn't the way most people do this, but please just trust me when I say that this is what I want. Calliope and this baby."

"And things are over with the father?" Daniel questioned.

"I –" Callie started to say.

"She was nervous enough to even tell you, Dad," Arizona said. "Please, please, please don't grill her. I'm a big girl. This might not be the ideal way that I thought we'd have children and I am still struggling with some things, but don't make her feel anymore guilty. Please. I'm asking you."

"It's a fair question," Callie said. "The answer is that I wasn't dating the father. We're friends and things happened. I don't want to say that it was a mistake because now we're going to be parents and I've always wanted that, but I am sorry that I've hurt Arizona. I'm incredibly grateful that she's decided to be a part of this, though. She's going to be a great mom."

"We weren't expecting this," Barbara admitted.

"I know," Arizona said. "I wasn't either, but I can honestly say that I feel like that's my baby. We'll work through things, but the most important thing is that we're going to have a family."

"Am I supposed to be overjoyed?" her father asked.

"We know that you'll have to let this sink in," Arizona said. "But eventually, we hope you'll be excited. Father or no father, you're going to be grandparents. That's how we feel. Dad, if we were having a baby using a donor, it probably wouldn't be biologically mine anyway."

"That's not why...it's just...I worry about you."

"This is a happy thing," she said. "Think of it this way. Calliope and I have to work out the details with the father, and you just get to enjoy being a grandpa. We all still have some time before the baby's here, too, so..."

"Is this really what you want?"

"It really is," Arizona smiled. "I'm sure. I wouldn't be calling myself a mom if I didn't know that I wanted this."

"Okay then."

It was still going to take time and he probably wasn't going to like the baby's father very much, but he didn't want to make Arizona's life difficult. They were her parents and they wanted to see her build the life that she wanted. If this really was it, he could try to understand. He wouldn't be excited overnight, yet being a grandfather would be nice.

"With you two as its moms, this baby's going to be so lucky," Barbara told them.

"Arizona's already such a mom," Callie said. "She makes sure I'm eating right, not drinking too much caffeine, all of that."

"I'm sure you're doing just fine," she replied. "How far along are you?"

"Thirteen weeks."

"We've already got pictures," Arizona smiled. "And we've heard the heartbeat."

"That's all it took," Callie said. "Arizona was in love as soon as she heard it."

"It was amazing," she said. "I couldn't help it."

"What was the heart rate?" her mom questioned.

"Mom, that's an old wives tale," Arizona laughed. "It was 154, but that doesn't mean it's a girl. A tiny Calliope would be great. A boy would be perfect, too, though. He'd be a mama's boy because he's got two moms to love him to pieces, but we'd be just as happy with a little man."

"Can I see the pictures?" she asked.

Callie got up to go get the photos. One of them was already framed and the other two were just loose. She handed them all over. Daniel even picked up one of them, which she thought was a good sign. She was glad that he was trying to get on board.

"It's a girl," Mrs. Robbins stated matter-of-factly.

Arizona smiled.

"Mom, that was done at just –"

"It's a girl."

"Those parts aren't even formed yet," she pointed out. "There's no way that you can tell so soon. And we don't even want to find out until the birth."

"She was right with you and your brother," her father said. "She knew he was a boy and she swore you were a girl. She guesses, but somehow she's right."

"Meanwhile, he thought you were a boy and Timothy was a girl," his wife said. "I tried to tell him, but..."

"We really don't care what it is," Callie said. "We mean that."

"Of course you do," she agreed. "But it's a girl. Now, how have you been feeling? Oh, I haven't even asked when you're due!"


	12. High Heels

**This one may spoil a part of 9X18 if you haven't seen it.**

**I wanted to write about an idea I had regarding Arizona shopping for some high heels after not being able to wear them for so long.**

* * *

"More feet!" Sofia exclaimed as they walked into the second shoe store of the afternoon.

Arizona had a few hours off, so she had picked her daughter up from daycare just after her nap and now they were spending their time shopping. They were both in need of some new footwear. Sofia had outgrown hers, and Arizona's new prosthetic finally allowed her the chance to wear a heel.

"More shoes?" Arizona corrected.

At least she said "feet" and not "foots" like she had been doing just weeks ago. The big girl was doing and saying so many silly things as she got older. Even a simple trip to the mall had resulted in many, many laughs. Sofia was just so excited by all of the different types of shoes. In fact, when they were picking out her sneakers, she had had to try on a few pairs of flats as well. Her mother had no intention of buying them for her today, but she insisted on checking them out anyway. Her sassy, spunky attitude was endlessly entertaining, even if she was hitting a stubborn streak lately. She was still just as sweet, too.

"Yeah."

"We got you some. Now can you help me pick some, please?"

"Uh huh," she said. "Sofia, pease?"

She hadn't wanted to take hers off at the other store, and she knew that they were in the bag now. She wanted them back already. They may have been a simple pair of red sneakers that she could destroy while playing outside, but that didn't matter to her. She thought they were great because she had gotten to make a decision between them and another pair by herself. Now her little eyes were on the bag, hoping that Arizona would let her have them sooner rather than later.

"How about you hold one of them?" Arizona compromised.

She didn't want to put them back on her feet and let her wear them around just yet because she knew that the new shoes wouldn't be so comfortable at first. She didn't want Sofia to start fussing about this before they were done at the store. Perhaps just holding them would be enough. Sure, she would have to watch to be sure that the shoe she gave her didn't get set down and left behind, but she could do that.

She nodded.

Arizona took the shoes out of the bag, then out of the box, and handed one of them over. If she gave her both, she would have to keep track of two of them. Sofia seemed content with just the right one, though.

"Now can we find me my new shoes?" she questioned. "I want fancy ones."

"Red?" she asked.

The toddler had selected red ones for herself, so naturally her mom should be just like her.

"I was thinking something a little more neutral," she replied. "Red's nice, but I don't know about that. I'm still a little unsure about this new prosthetic. I'm excited about heels, but it's still another adjustment.

"Righ'," she agreed.

"Do you know what I just said?"

"New feet."

She laughed.

"Sofia, they're shoes. But I did get a new foot. You're not wrong about that. I just haven't worn my new leg unless I was trying it on for David. Until now."

Sofia had stopped listening. Now she was just looking inside of her new shoe.

"What are you doing?" Arizona asked her. "C'mon. Help me. I'm going to put shoes on and I need you to tell me if they're good. Okay?"

* * *

The blonde had been looking forward to being able to wear high heels again. She couldn't wait to feel just that little bit more normal and feminine. Still, as she tried on pair after pair, none of them seemed right. She hadn't worn any since before her amputation and they seemed foreign to her all of the sudden. The excitement was not there at this very moment. She was starting to wonder why she had wanted this prosthetic. Maybe she should just stick to the one that she had been getting more used to. Even it wasn't perfect, but it didn't feel quite as strange.

She had to sit down and take a little break when her leg began hurting. She didn't want to have to take it off in public. She was hoping that just sitting down for a second would help. Luckily it was today. Sofia was testing her boundaries and touching all of the footwear within her reach, but she would just have to handle that in the best way that she could. If there was anything that she had learned lately, it was that going with whatever was happening and making the best of it was a better idea than getting all worked up when things weren't going so wonderfully.

"Sofia, what colour are those?" she questioned, hoping to catch the little one's attention.

"Ummm..."

"Brown?" she suggested.

"Yes."

"Can you come show me your new red shoe again? I really like it."

"No."

"Yes, please," she said in a slightly stern tone. "I really want you to come here."

"No, Mama."

"Sofia Robbin Sloan," she tried, now breaking out the middle names to show her that she meant business. "Are you listening?"

"No," she answered truthfully.

"I'll put your new shoes on," she promised.

She wasn't proud of how easily she had caved, but she was starting to see their positive little shopping trip turning into a disaster. Trying on new heels wasn't going well, she was in pain, and Sofia was probably about a minute or two away from getting the idea that she could destroy the store. Sometimes damage control was good.

Sofia complied and went and sat down with her. Arizona put the little shoes on and just hoped that she wouldn't complain about how they weren't broken in right away. All that she needed was a few more minutes.

"Those are some pretty awesome new shoes," she told her.

She was swinging her little legs underneath her as she looked down at them.

* * *

Arizona's pain started to fade away as much as it was going to right then, so she stood up and went back to looking for some heels. Sofia asked that she try on a certain pair and she did so even though she didn't like them. Keeping Sofia entertained was important, too.

"Maybe bringing a side-kick along wasn't the best idea," she thought aloud. "I'm happy to have time with you, but I have a feeling your patience is going to wear thin very soon."

"Pity," she said.

"I don't want these today," she explained. "Sorry."

A friendly-looking store employee made her way over. She had noticed Arizona and Sofia earlier, but she hadn't wanted to intrude since she didn't know what exactly was going on with her customer.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"I probably look like I've never so much as seen a pair of heels before, right?"

"You do look a bit lost," she said.

She pulled up her pant leg just a little to reveal its plastic look. She was surprised that she was comfortable doing so, but this woman seemed understanding to her. Plus, she would probably never have to see her again. That helped.

"I just got a new prosthetic and I can wear heels again, but it's...overwhelming. I really want a pair and I want my wife to love them, but this isn't going well."

"Hi," Sofia smiled.

"Hi," the employee replied. "What's your name?"

Sofia just looked at her mom.

"Say 'I'm Sofia!'" she encouraged her.

"It's nice to meet you, Sofia," the employee said. "I'm Lauren. Should we help your mom find some shoes?"

Sofia pointed to her new footwear.

"Are those your shoes?"

"Yeah."

"Well, they're pretty cute," she said.

"Red."

"And they're red," she agreed. "So, Mom, is there anything specific you're looking for?"

* * *

With Lauren's help, Arizona was able to find two pairs that she liked. She knew that there would be a learning curve and that heels weren't the easiest thing to wear in general, but this was promising.

"Are these ones good?" she asked Sofia. "I like them. They make me look good, don't they?"

"Happy," she decided.

"They make me look happy? I think you might be right about that."


	13. Bedtime Story

**It's been a while since I've posted one of these chapters, and I felt like today would be a good day for one. Here's a little something about how Arizona managed to get Baby Sofia to go back to sleep in the middle of the night.**

* * *

Sofia had done so well since her N.I.C.U. days, and her parents knew that they had gotten very lucky. She was even hitting the majority of her milestones by her chronological age instead of the adjusted one that they were supposed to be judging her development by. They had no idea how she did it, but she had all but caught up to her six-month-old peers already. This was practically unheard of for a baby as premature as she had been, but they weren't about to question it.

Still, just as any child would, Sofia often challenged her parents. Considering everything, she had been a decent sleeper. It could have been much worse than it was. She still didn't usually sleep through the night, but she let them get just enough rest. However, since she had turned six months old, that had changed.

Arizona awoke to the familiar sounds of her restless baby. Callie wasn't in the bed beside her, so she figured that she was already trying to soothe Sofia. She gave it a few minutes, hoping that the little one would settle for her wife. When she didn't, the blonde got up and made her way into Sofia's room to find them both needing her to take over.

"She wants you," Callie said, passing her over. "I'm good for other things, but she just doesn't want me in the middle of the night."

"I know," Arizona agreed.

Secretly, they both loved this fact. While Callie did wish that Sofia would just drift back off to sleep easily for her, she also adored seeing how close her wife and daughter were. She couldn't really blame Sofia for wanting Arizona whenever she woke up like this.

Callie gave both of them tender kisses before returning to bed. She wouldn't actually fall asleep again until Sofia was settled, but it was better than nothing.

"What's got you all worked up, Sofia?" Arizona asked as she started to sort of sway back and forth with the baby. "You shouldn't be hungry right now, and your diaper's all clean. Do you just need a little Mama time?"

"Mamamama," the baby replied.

Technically, this _was_ simply babbling. She wasn't about to admit that, though. Even if six-month-olds couldn't actually speak, that precious word always came at the right times. It was probably because Arizona had just said it and Sofia was mimicking her, but it was still special. They could live in the moment and agree that "Mama" was Sofia's first word. What harm would that do? Arizona loved it and Sofia seemed happy to provide these sweet moments.

"Mama," she smiled. "Right. Can you go to sleep for me, though? You can talk about me all you want tomorrow. For now, it's time for mamas and Sofias to sleep."

"Gagagaga," Sofia added.

"Shh…" Arizona said. "It's Mama. Remember? We're trying to make people realize that you know that one."

After a few minutes of the swaying, Arizona sat down in the rocking chair. This routine always worked like a charm for her.

"You're getting heavy, you know," she told her. "Where's that seventeen ounce girl I met? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're healthier now, but you're growing up on me. Already six months? What?"

She started to rub Sofia's back. So far, this was going as well as all of the other occasions on which they had had late night meetings like this one.

"Want to hear about my day tomorrow?" she asked. "I'm sure some crazy stuff will come up. It always does. That E.R. is a busy place. But other than that, I'm taking a big old ugly tumour out of a little boy's tummy. After that he can start his special medicine and hopefully get better. That's what we want, right?"

It certainly wasn't a typical bedtime story, but Arizona had discovered that Sofia loved to hear about her adventures at work way more than she wanted to read "Goodnight Moon" or any of the other books in her collection. Sure, those were fine, but they didn't lull the baby to sleep quite as well.

"And then I've got a preemie coming in for a check-up. I operated on her six weeks ago, and I need to make sure she's healing."

Sofia yawned.

"I'll tell you about one more case, okay? Then it's time to go back into your crib."

The baby's fingers found their way to her mouth.

"There was this little girl who was born about six months ago," she smiled. "She was _way_ too early, but she was a strong little thing, and she pulled through. She's the best baby to ever come through that N.I.C.U. Maybe I'm biased, but that's what I think."

Sofia's head was resting on Arizona's shoulder now, and she was fast asleep when her mom looked over. She smiled and kissed her. This was the hardest part for her. Getting Sofia to sleep wasn't really that big of a deal, but putting her down in her crib and leaving her be when she looked so adorable was difficult. If she could have, Arizona would have just held her all night long.

* * *

"How do you do it?" Callie asked when her wife returned to bed about five minutes after that.

"You're going to think I'm ridiculous," she smiled.

"What?"

"She _loves_ hearing about my patients," the blonde revealed.

"You use surgeries as bedtime stories?" she questioned. "Oh, that's normal."

She laughed.

"I told you it was ridiculous," she said. "But she loves them. I start talking and it only takes a few minutes for her to drift off."

"She's going to have nightmares one day."

"Well, she'll have to get used to normal bedtime stories eventually," Arizona nodded. "Yes. But for now, she doesn't know what tumours or any of the other horrible things really are. And I leave out the scariest parts. I don't think I'm doing any damage yet."

"She really likes stories about surgery?"

"She loves them."

"She's going to be a surgeon one day."

"Either that or she finds surgery boring already," Arizona pointed out. "It really could go either way."

"But she'll be a surgeon one day," Callie stated. "Only if she wants to be one, but she'll want to be one. The only question is if she'll go into Ortho, Peds., or Plastics."

"Not Plastics," Arizona decided. "And I've got a head start on convincing her that Peds. is awesome, so you'd better start telling her all about cartilage right away if you think that she'll ever pick Ortho."

Callie gave her a kiss.

"I love you."

"I love you, too," she replied. "Goodnight, Calliope."

"Goodnight. Let's just hope she doesn't wake us up again," Callie said.

"If she does, break out the stories of your best surgeries," she suggested.


	14. Peanut Butter

**I've been asked if I'll keep up these chapters in order to help us get through the summer. I fully intend to. Some of these chapters won't be happy because not all of Callie and Arizona's moments have been happy, but I will definitely write as many happy ones as possible. Thank you for reading.**

**This one takes place not too long after the "vagina vote" scene. It's fluffy goodness.**

* * *

"I'm a little scared to ask this, but what's for dinner?"

Her girlfriend may have wanted peanut butter sandwiches these days, but Arizona was hoping for a more complete meal when she arrived home on that particular night. Still, challenging Callie Torres wasn't exactly the best move. Pregnancy hormones had officially taken over, and Arizona had learned that it was probably just best to go along for the ride. It wasn't like anything that Callie wanted was excessively unhealthy. Of course she wasn't going to put their unborn child in danger. The blonde was now trying to be a very supportive girlfriend until the baby arrived. The little family they were creating was worth it.

"Peanut butter sandwiches," Callie replied. "And I'm eating the broccoli, too."

"Well, good," she smiled.

"Just try one," she urged her. "They're good. I'm sure you used to love them as a kid, right?"

"As a kid," she emphasized. "I may wear roller skates for shoes, but I'm not a child. I prefer actual adult dinners. But fine. I'll try it tonight. Just for you."

Callie smiled.

"Thank you," she said.

"Even if I'm pretty sure that you only want them because of your cravings."

"Tomorrow we can have chicken again. You're right. It's good for us."

"Thank you. I tried not to say anything, but some studies show –"

"-And other studies show no link between eating nut products during pregnancy, and having the child develop an allergy to them. Studies can go both ways. I'm not too worried. Maybe this sounds crazy, but I don't think I'd crave something that was that terrible for the baby. I don't think that's how it works. A few sandwiches every now and then are fine."

"I know," she said, giving her a kiss.

Arizona made herself her own sandwich – and couldn't resist bringing Callie another helping of broccoli on her way over to the couch with it – and sat down to eat. Surprisingly, she found that her dinner wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She hadn't had one since childhood, but now she was wondering if children were on to something.

"This is okay," she said, trying not to admit that she actually really enjoyed it.

"Meaning it's amazing?" Callie asked. "I know. I hadn't had one in years and then this craving started. Now I don't really understand why adults don't eat these more often."

She laughed.

"I think most adults try to avoid things that they ate in first grade," she answered. "But Baby has good taste. I still think tomorrow's chicken is probably going to be better, but I can live with a few peanut butter sandwich nights."

"Okay," she smiled. "Hey, do you want to find out what the baby is? You're the tie breaker. I don't want to know, but Mark really, really does. Apparently he has no interest in the surprise."

"In that case, I definitely don't want to find out," she decided.

"Just to go against what Mark wants?"

"No," she smiled. "Though, that is a perk."

"Arizona…"

"I don't want to find out because I don't care," she clarified. "At all. And if you don't want to find out, then that's all the more reason not to."

"I think the surprise will make that moment even more special," she smiled.

"I think it's a girl," she told her. "A little mini Calliope."

"And if it's a boy?" Callie asked.

"Not going to lie. That whole 'like father like son' thing is a bit concerning," she laughed. "But Mark also has Sloan and she's no prize either. Either way we've just got to hope for the best. We'll be awesome parents and awesome parents end up raising awesome kids. I might be biased, but I think Baby's going to be the perfect child."

"It will," Callie smiled as she finished her sandwich. "Know what Baby and I want now?"

"That extra broccoli?"

"Fine," she said, eating a piece of it. "But after that."

"A foot rub?"

"Yes, please," she nodded.

"You two are lucky I love you," she smiled.

"We love you, too," she said, giving her a kiss. "But seriously, Arizona. My feet are already killing me. I'm still in my first trimester. The third one is going to be –"

"You won't be working for most of the third one," she told her. "Having such a demanding job will probably mean that you'll have to slow down sooner."

"I know," she said. "I don't like it, but I know. It's worth it. You would not believe how sore I already am. How is that possible so soon?!"

"Things are starting to change."

* * *

Another symptom that Callie was battling with was her increasing fatigue. She liked to blame it on the fact that she wasn't drinking quite as much caffeine these days, but it was really just a very common part of pregnancy. As soon as dinner was over with, she decided that it was time to settle in for the night.

"I keep hearing stories of other pregnant women who want sex all of the time," she yawned. "I'm half asleep. I've heard that sex during pregnancy can be really, really good and I'd like to be able to have some."

"The second trimester will come," Arizona smiled. "Some people call it the 'honeymoon phase' of pregnancy, you know."

"Oh, I know."

"I'm pretty sure you're counting down the days until the due date. So am I, but I'm also just a _little_ bit focused on the second trimester."

"Soon," Callie smiled.

"How's the foot rub?" she asked.

"You have girly hands," she replied.

"Girly hands?" she laughed. "Please! These hands save the lives of future teachers, doctors, politicians…these hands are not girly hands."

"These hands fix bones. _These_ aren't girly hands. Yours are. They're very talented hands, but they're kind of girly. Hate to break it to you."

"You seem to like my hands when they're doing other things," she smiled.

"I do," she yawned again. "I _really _can't wait for just a little bit more energy."

"You're going to fall asleep on me, aren't you?"

"Maybe," she admitted. "I'm sorry. Keep me awake. You come home, eat what I'm craving, rub my feet, and that's it? I'm so boring now."

"What do you want to talk about?" she asked. "Mark and I worked together and hardly even argued today. Can I tell you about that?"

"Hardly?"

"It's a work in progress."

"Tell me about the kid you worked on," she said. "Stories of sick little kids aren't so much fun now that I'm pregnant, but you're amazing, so I'm sure the kid's just fine."

"She is," she nodded. "And she has no more cleft lip."

"Good," Callie smiled. "What was her name? I'm trying to remember all of the names I hear on little kids right now."

"Why?"

"Because we have a baby to name," she said. "I grew up never meeting another Calliope. I think I want our baby to have a name that the other kids will have heard of."

"I never imagined my kid having a popular name, but you have a point."

"You didn't want kids for so long," she replied. "Why did you think about names?"

"I didn't really," she explained. "But I had baby dolls when I was a little girl. Obviously they had to have names."

Callie smiled.

"What were they?"

"Well, there were a few, but Delaware and Mississippi were my favourites."

Callie started laughing. In fact, she laughed harder than she probably should have.

"I was five! I didn't really understand the whole U.S.S. Arizona story yet. My dad had tried to explain it in an age appropriate way, but it hadn't really worked. How do you make that age appropriate?"

"Right."

"Anyway, we were moving across the country, so my mom showed me a map. She pointed out where we were and where we were going to live next. When I saw my name on the map, I thought all of the names on there would suit little girls, so I made my mom read a few of them."

Callie was still laughing.

"Give me a break!" Arizona laughed as well. "Delaware could go by Dela and Mississippi could be Missi."

"I bet five-year-old you was hilarious," she told her. "And now I'm awake. Thanks for that. Tell me more about Little Arizona."

"What about young Calliope?"

"I was a weird kid."

"I named dolls after states because I thought that all state names were baby names. _I _was weird."

"Tell me more."


End file.
